Review: Rich Garvey “Man of the People” / Release Show Tonight!

In 1966, Chinua Achebe, most famously known for his work Things Fall Apart, wrote A Man of the People, a satirical novel told by the narrator Odilli on his conflict with Chief Nanga who decides to run for public office. Odilli represents the voice of the younger generation, whereas Nanga represents traditional customs. In a way, you could see the same battle being played among hip-hop circles today to a large degree. Rich Garvey, a Liberian born and Minneapolis raised emcee has released Man of the People, his second EP. With it, Rich seeks to cast himself as a true man of the people, and teaming up with producer Travis Gorman, its a claim he’s bold enough to make.

Such cuts as the soulful and gripping “Then They Gotchu,” or the eerie, blood-curdling kick off of “I’m Taking All That,” Rich is able to sound assertive, energetic, and boisterous, like a young champ entering the ring for a title fight. The wonky violin of “Better This Way,” is a soundtrack for emcees to catch bodies over just off the strength of the beat alone.

Rich for the most part is able to keep and hold his own over most of the 28 minute duration of the EP. However, there are some minor missteps. For example, four of the seven songs have guest features, which help to varying degrees of success. For example, GainesFM almost comes off like Big Sean on “Better This Way,” however Finding Novyon and K.Raydio shine on their appearances, the latter actually taking a whole track and doing the damn thing on the interlude “Space.” One could’ve wondered if Rich had more mic time on the EP, why Man of the People would be a worthy claim of him to make, since he’s more than capable of holding his own. Also, there are two bonus songs, one called “Untitled” and the other called “Ven Aqui,” which could’ve found a home easy on the EP and interchanged with the couple of tracks with features to allow for better continuity.

Man of the People in the end very much acts like Rich In Spirit, in a lot of aspects, but Rich for his part makes the most of his mic time, and Travis Gorman is able to keep things consistent, making Man of the People another something to whet the appetite of the masses. One can hope that with continued work and grit, Rich can definitely make a debut that is worthy of the Man of the People.

Rich Garvey will be celebrating the release of Man of the People TONIGHT (Wednesday, August 24th). P.O.S., Free Lunch Crew, Unknown Creatures, Destiny Roberts, Phib, and Blamiss will all be performing. DJ WNDRLND and DJ Travis Gorman will be DJ’ing the night’s festivities. Tickets for this release party are $15 in advance, and $18 at the door. This is an 18+ show, and tickets can be purchased here.